Helen Gurley Brown's Personal Exercise Routine

Scorpio6 · 12-11-15, 11:18 PM

I analyzed the breakdown and copied this from her book The Late Show and thought it was very interesting. Some of the terminology is mine. I also changed the order to move from standing to lying exercises to give a better and quicker flow from what she described in her book. She did all this twice a day, the full version in the morning and a mini version late afternoon.

She also had some quotes worth remembering -- of course she did, it was Helen, after all.
"I want you exercising, kiddo. It's your sacred right."
"You need diet and exercise now more than ever and, to do any good, they have almost to be a preoccupation. . . part of the fabric of life."
So we vidiots are vindicated. Here it is:

LOW AB ISOMETRICS. Pull knees in to chest, blow on knees 40x.
DEEP KNEE BENDS/PLIES/WALL SQUATS. 40X
LUNGES ON A STEP. 20x per leg.
KNEE-UPS. Either hanging from a bar or on edge of bed. 20x
SIDE KICKS / GRAND BATTEMENTS. 20x per leg.
BACK KICKS. 20x per leg.
UPPER BODY light dumbbells. No details given, so your choice, 10 min.
KNEELING HINGES, similar to Lotte Berk from her description. 40x
SIT UPS. 40X I guess you could sub frog and flutter kicks for low abs.
PUSH UPS from the knees. I guess you could include Planks. 20x.
Either: DYNAMIC BOAT POSE or PILATES DOUBLE LEG STRETCH. From her description, she flung both arms and legs out at the same time. 40x.
CHAIR CRUNCHES. 40x. She had her legs on a chair, lay on back on floor.
ROTATIONAL STRETCHES. Knee to chest side roll.
INVERSION. Feet up the wall, what yoga ppl call viparita karani. 20 seconds.

Tugger31 · 12-12-15, 06:24 AM

Who is Helen Gurley Brown??

PhyllisG · 12-12-15, 06:58 AM

She was the long time editor of Cosmopolitan magazine.

athompson10 · 12-12-15, 08:43 AM

That's pretty impressive.

Scorpio6 · 12-12-15, 11:49 AM

She also wrote several books, first breaking onto the scene in the 1960's with her book, Sex and the Single Girl, followed up by Sex and the Office, then several other books including a cookbook. Her writing was hilarious, like reading the way a girlfriend would talk to you. Her first book was made into a movie that had Lauren Bacall and Natalie Wood in it. She married the movie producer David Brown.

Pat58 · 12-12-15, 12:22 PM

I used to love Cosmo back in the day when Helen ran it. Every issue was packed with great information and it wasn't quite so cheesey and schlocky.

shoegoddess · 12-12-15, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat58

I used to love Cosmo back in the day when Helen ran it. Every issue was packed with great information and it wasn't quite so cheesey and schlocky.

I used to read it also. Got a lot of great skin care info out of it.

TinierTina · 12-12-15, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat58

I used to love Cosmo back in the day when Helen ran it. Every issue was packed with great information and it wasn't quite so cheesey and schlocky.

She overly-valorized fashion models' figures; and, just like science-writer Michael Fumento (also prejudiced against women of a certain size, more so than for men) underestimated the scope and severity of the AIDS crisis. That heterosexuals who were sexually active over-reacted! That is was mostly a gay male thing and a young-person's thing to fear ... She was the one who coined the term, AFRAIDs ....

Of course, being mostly family women and suburbanites, you would not see the threat and the reproach in that attitude she publicized.

I don't miss her. But I get it.

She exercised every day—even when she had a cold, even after outpatient surgery. Or so she claimed. She'd swum laps (very) badly in hotel pools, specifically to burn extra calories... giving lifeguards major conniptions. [I guess charleyhorses in the wrong places were badges of honor for her; she'd probably relished getting DOMS and avoided all sorts of overuse/bad form-induced injuries] ... wish I'd have had that kind of nerve as a swimmer in my swimming days.

But, yeah comparisons of her to Hugh Hefner in "liberating attitudes towards extra- and premarital sex", were spot-on.

But as politically incorrect as they come, otherwise.

Vintage VFer · 12-12-15, 01:50 PM

Rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot had something to say about Cosmo in his classic "Baby Got Back" song:

"So Cosmo says you're fat
Well I ain't down with that!
'Cause your waist is small and your curves are kickin'
And I'm thinkin' bout stickin'
To the beanpole dames in the magazines:
You ain't it, Miss Thing!"

kirov2 · 12-12-15, 06:20 PM

I read "Having It All" by Helen (decades ago)...she talked about how very non-athletic she was...playing basketball in gym class and poised to take a shot at the basket with everyone on her team screaming at her to "stop!" (She was aiming at the other team's basket). She said, "They could have saved themselves the screams...No shot of mine ever got near a basket."

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12-11-15, 11:18 PM
Scorpio6 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: St. Louis MO	Helen Gurley Brown's Personal Exercise Routine I analyzed the breakdown and copied this from her book The Late Show and thought it was very interesting. Some of the terminology is mine. I also changed the order to move from standing to lying exercises to give a better and quicker flow from what she described in her book. She did all this twice a day, the full version in the morning and a mini version late afternoon. She also had some quotes worth remembering -- of course she did, it was Helen, after all. "I want you exercising, kiddo. It's your sacred right." "You need diet and exercise now more than ever and, to do any good, they have almost to be a preoccupation. . . part of the fabric of life." So we vidiots are vindicated. Here it is: LOW AB ISOMETRICS. Pull knees in to chest, blow on knees 40x. DEEP KNEE BENDS/PLIES/WALL SQUATS. 40X LUNGES ON A STEP. 20x per leg. KNEE-UPS. Either hanging from a bar or on edge of bed. 20x SIDE KICKS / GRAND BATTEMENTS. 20x per leg. BACK KICKS. 20x per leg. UPPER BODY light dumbbells. No details given, so your choice, 10 min. KNEELING HINGES, similar to Lotte Berk from her description. 40x SIT UPS. 40X I guess you could sub frog and flutter kicks for low abs. PUSH UPS from the knees. I guess you could include Planks. 20x. Either: DYNAMIC BOAT POSE or PILATES DOUBLE LEG STRETCH. From her description, she flung both arms and legs out at the same time. 40x. CHAIR CRUNCHES. 40x. She had her legs on a chair, lay on back on floor. ROTATIONAL STRETCHES. Knee to chest side roll. INVERSION. Feet up the wall, what yoga ppl call viparita karani. 20 seconds.

12-12-15, 06:24 AM
Tugger31 Join Date: Feb 2002	Who is Helen Gurley Brown??

12-12-15, 06:58 AM
PhyllisG Join Date: May 2005 Location: Woodstock NY	She was the long time editor of Cosmopolitan magazine.

12-12-15, 08:43 AM
athompson10 VF Supporter Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY	That's pretty impressive. __________________ Allison

12-12-15, 11:49 AM
Scorpio6 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: St. Louis MO	She also wrote several books, first breaking onto the scene in the 1960's with her book, Sex and the Single Girl, followed up by Sex and the Office, then several other books including a cookbook. Her writing was hilarious, like reading the way a girlfriend would talk to you. Her first book was made into a movie that had Lauren Bacall and Natalie Wood in it. She married the movie producer David Brown.

12-12-15, 12:22 PM
Pat58 VF Supporter Join Date: May 2002 Location: Connecticut	I used to love Cosmo back in the day when Helen ran it. Every issue was packed with great information and it wasn't quite so cheesey and schlocky.

12-12-15, 01:50 PM
Vintage VFer VF Supporter Join Date: Nov 2001	Rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot had something to say about Cosmo in his classic "Baby Got Back" song: "So Cosmo says you're fat Well I ain't down with that! 'Cause your waist is small and your curves are kickin' And I'm thinkin' bout stickin' To the beanpole dames in the magazines: You ain't it, Miss Thing!" __________________ Goal:250 / Done:91 POSTURE CHECK!

12-12-15, 06:20 PM
kirov2 Join Date: Feb 2007	I read "Having It All" by Helen (decades ago)...she talked about how very non-athletic she was...playing basketball in gym class and poised to take a shot at the basket with everyone on her team screaming at her to "stop!" (She was aiming at the other team's basket). She said, "They could have saved themselves the screams...No shot of mine ever got near a basket."